1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of pollution control devices. More specifically the present invention relates to a particle removal apparatus for placement in an internal combustion engine air intake line or exhaust line to remove particles from the gas by passing the gas along a spiral path between spaced apart oppositely charged first and second spiral plates, so that the particles become charged and collect on one of the plates and subsequently drop or are blown into disposal passageway such as for delivery into a particle storage sump. Additionally, the present invention reveals a method of ozonizing the air-intake of a combustion engine to improve the combustion properties of the a fuel. The first spiral plate preferably spirals around and longitudinally along and is secured to the exterior surface of an electrically conductive disposal passageway in the form of a disposal tube having a particle admitting longitudinal tube slot adjacent the series of plate spirals, and the second spiral plate preferably spirals within and longitudinally along and is secured to the interior surface of an electrically conductive outer mounting tube such as a containment housing tubular side wall, such that the second spiral plate spirals parallel to and spaced apart a selected and substantially uniform distance from the first spiral plate, and the disposal tube and attached first spiral plate are charged by connection to a first electric terminal pole and the outer mounting tube and the attached second spiral plate are charged by connection to a second electric terminal pole having a charge opposite that of the first electric terminal pole. The disposal tube is mounted on electrically insulating material to be electrically isolated from the remainder of the apparatus and therefore to sustain the independent charge applied to it and the attached first spiral plate. The outer mounting tube is also mounted on electrically insulating material to be electrically isolated from the remainder of the apparatus and therefore to sustain the independent charge applied to it and the attached second spiral plate. The disposal tube and containment housing preferably are coaxial.
The containment housing preferably has a housing first end wall, and the gas admission passageway opens directly into the housing first end wall. The containment housing further preferably has a housing second end tapering to a gas release opening spaced radially outward from the disposal tube so that exhaust gas can pass between the gas release opening and the disposal tube. The containment housing alternatively simply has a housing first end which opens into a fan shroud containing a fan for pulling gas into the containment housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have long been electrostatic precipitators and other devices for removing pollutant particles from gases before they are released into the atmosphere. A problem has been that these devices are often expensive and inefficient. Gases and suspended particles have been passed between charged plates in some such devices, but removing the collected particles from the device can be time consuming, and since the gas can pass through a rectilinear path between the plates the momentum can cause some of the particles to remain within the flow rather than be diverted to a plate by the electric charge. In addition, there are advantages to using such devices to ionize air-intake in an engine to generate combustible ozone gas that has more oxygen content than otherwise. Finally, these devices can be bulky.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a particle removal apparatus in which charged plates are configured to a more compact shape while providing a non-rectilinear, spiral path for gas passage which causes suspended particles to be thrown against a charged surface partly by centrifugal forces.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus in which the plates are themselves spiral shaped and which can assist gas delivery into the apparatus with a fan or blower.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which can be mounted on diesel vehicles and motors for exhaust gas particle removal, potentially as a replacement to a diesel particulate filter (DPF), reducing back pressure associated with DPF s.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which can be readily mounted to fit within either an air intake line, such as for NASCAR™ race cars, which may not have air filters or an exhaust gas line of an internal combustion engine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus in which air intake applications for gasoline, diesel and bio-diesel enhance combustion, and thus fuel efficiency, via the result of electrostatic charge and ionization, whereby O and O3 (and other species) are being isolated and introduced into the air intake prior to combustion.
It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus in which exhaust applications enhance the off-gas treatment of emissions via the result of electrostatic charge and ionization, whereby O and O3 (and other species) are being isolated and introduced into the off-gases and into a—standard—catalyst for gasoline applications, and into a—standard—diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) for diesel and bio-diesel applications.
This is a key object and feature as the intake application, either alone or in part, enhances combustion and thus fuel efficiency, as well as aiding in the reduction of off-gas emissions; while the exhaust application, either alone or in part, enhances the off-gas treatment of emissions (specifically NOx) after the isolation and removal of the particulate matter.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which is compact, easy to install, sturdy, reliable and inexpensive to manufacture.